Press Releases

Sep182015

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senators John Boozman and Tom Cotton cosponsored a joint resolution of disapproval that would reverse the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) waters of the United States (WOTUS) rule. This regulation gives the administration expanded federal authority to oversee land use decisions of homeowners, small businesses and family farms in Arkansas and across the country.

The resolution introduced by Senator Joni Ernst (R-IA) and cosponsored by 46 senators would nullify the rule and send a message to the administration that its actions are an attack on the property rights of all landowners.

“This costly and heavy-handed rule will take away the ability of Arkansas landowners to control and maintain their land. We already protect water quality through federal-state partnerships. This Obama administration rule is just an effort to put Washington rule-makers in complete control,” Boozman said.

“The final WOTUS rule is a prime example of government overreach at its very worst— effectively tying farmer’s hands on everything from when to plant, how often they can run a tractor, and regulating mud puddles on their farms. I am committed to stopping these regulations in their tracks and protecting Arkansans from the Obama Administration’s continued assault on rural America,” Cotton said.

The Congressional Review Act (CRA) allows either the Senate or the House to approve a joint resolution of disapproval with the full force of law to stop a federal agency from implementing a recent rule or regulation. A resolution of disapproval introduced under the CRA cannot be filibustered and requires a simple majority in the Senate to pass if acted upon during a 60-day window.

Boozman and Cotton are cosponsors of the Federal Water Quality Protection Act that would protect our nation’s waters and the rights of landowners against the overly burdensome and costly regulatory power-grab created by the WOTUS rule.